Oil is part of the issue

Submitted by B.W. (United States), Nov 23, 2002 at 14:24

Regardless of what political slant a college professor may choose, the issue
remains that petrol is part of the picture. Any good Republican could tell you
that, so you don't have to take a liberal's word for it. As Clinton said, "It's the
economy(stupid)", and the US economy lives and breathes by its access to
fuel. To that extent, the petroboyz have assisted OPEC and its fellows in
keeping the US as a patron of the middle east for all perpetuity.

There are alternative means of generating a vehicle fuel. Everything from
electricity to hydrogen gas is usable, and while not as convenient as unleaded,
will serve to make pistons move and gears turn. That angle of transportation
remains largely unexplored, save by some noteables such as Honda, who we
find poised to take advantage of the eventual demise of FoMoCo and company.

The other side of this is pure politics, you see entire countries that have been
whipped into a lather of antiwest/antiamericanism by their radical religious types,
not unlike our very own Falwellites et.al.

Another component of all of this is foreign aid. The failure of the world conference
on racism in S. Africa preceded 9/11 by less than a month. IMHO there is a connection
between the two events.

Finally: Like it or not, the middle east represents the third world. As such, they
are beneficiaries of foreign aid, specifically US foreign aid. And like any good welfare project,
the region is perpetually beset by violence, drugs, and a laundry list of what can only be called human
rights abuses by the standards of most 'civilized' nations. Poverty begets poverty,
and when you read about the birthrate soaring in nations that are incapable
of self-support, you have to fairly ask the question as to whether or not foreign
aid is really helping anymore. Give a man a fish....

Time alone will tell whether the cooler, wiser heads in the region will prevail
over the various tensions and situations in the region, such as the israeli/palestinian
issue. Much remains undone in the world of international diplomacy, and still
more undone concerning self-development of those nations to support their
own populations independently of perpetual foreign support. To paraphrase
Hillary, 'it only takes a child to raze a village', and if other nations see fit
to abuse what has amounted to good nature and good faith aid efforts on
the part of the west, then perhaps it's time to see how well they do without it....?

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